Exercise apparatus for swimmers

ABSTRACT

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base frame supporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a central section supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs. The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portion on which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion on which the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rear portions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of the apparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilient telescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross member having adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support section includes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon. The rear section includes a post on which leg supports are mounted. The apparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breast strokes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to exercise apparatus, and moreparticularly, to an exercise apparatus for swimmers that can beconfigured for learning or practicing the freestyle stroke and thebreast stroke without being in the water.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Exercise machines of various types have been in use for many yearsdirected to accomplishing many types of fitness results. Typically,exercise machines include many types of exercise devices that performeither a single exercise or multiple exercises using different musclegroups and movements. The devices generally utilize weights, springs,resistance devices or pulleys, and sometimes enable the user to createmotion against the gravity effect on the user's body weight.

Swimming is often taught to beginners in a pool or other swimminglocation by having the beginner lying prone in the water while beingsupported by a parent or instructor supporting the beginner as thebeginner learns the arm strokes, leg kicks, and coordinated movementsfor breathing while swimming. There is no apparatus available forteaching the coordinated movements involved on dry land while simulatingthe buoyant forces experienced swimming in water,

From time to time, swimmers may not be able to swim in the usualswimming facility due to illnesses or medical conditions, such asdermatological impairments or infections. In addition, swimmerssometimes may need to go through a period of recuperation from anorthopedic impairment and may desire exercising on dry land to rebuildmuscle strength before returning to swimming in water. Current exerciseapparatus for swimmers are either designed for use in the water or forexercising specific muscle groups individually, without simulating thecoordinated movements required by particular swimming strokes.

Thus, an exercise apparatus for swimmers solving the aforementionedproblems is desired.

SUMMARY

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base framesupporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a centralsection supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs.The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portionon which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion onwhich the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rearportions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of theapparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilienttelescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross memberhaving adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support sectionincludes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon.The rear section includes a post on which leg supports are mounted. Theapparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breast strokes.

When configured for freestyle stroke exercises, the front chest supportsection has hand holsters attached to the lateral arm posts resilientlybiased to move 180° out of phase vertically to simulate hand positionsduring the freestyle stroke and the rear leg support section has a plateextending transversely through the top of the post, the plate having legpads mounted at opposite ends and being resiliently biased to offerresistance to leg kicking movement. The hand grips and leg plate areconnected by a pulley system to synchronize pivoting of the leg platewith the position of the hand holsters.

When configured for breast stroke exercises, the front chest supportsection has a chest pad pivotally mounted on the upper section of thetelescoping post to simulate the up and down motion of the chest whiledoing the breast stroke. The upper section of the telescoping post alsohas two rigid arm-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquelyforward, and two resilient hand holsters arms pivotally mounted onswivels at the ends of the arm-mounting brackets to simulate hand andarm positions during the breast stroke. The rear leg support section hastwo rigid leg-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquelyrearward, and two resilient foot pads/holsters pivotally mounted onswivels at the ends of the leg-mounting brackets to simulate leg kickswhile doing the breast stroke.

These and other features of the present subject matter will becomereadily apparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers,shown configured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , shownwith the covers removed to show details of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , shownfrom the rear of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a side view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , showingfurther details of the base frame.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the rear leg support section ofthe exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view of an exercise apparatusfor swimmers, shown configured for teaching and practicing the breaststroke.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are exploded perspective views, shown partiallyexploded, of an alternative embodiment of a rear leg support section forthe exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8C a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers, shownconfigured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke, having thealternative embodiment of a rear leg support section of FIGS. 8A and 8B.

FIG. 9A is a partial perspective view of a rear leg support section forthe exercise apparatus of FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9B is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers,shown configured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke,showing the base frame in dashed lines and the components needed toconfigure the apparatus for the breast stroke in solid lines.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment ofa connector for attaching components to the various spindles of theapparatus.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the linkages of the apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a detailed view of a main spindle assembly of the apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of a linkage for a hand holster of theapparatus.

FIG. 14 is a detailed view of various stages of the hand and armmovements in sync with the chest pad up and down movements.

FIG. 15 is as detailed of the various stages for the leg positionscorresponding to the arm and hand movements as in FIG. 14 .

FIG. 16 is as detailed view of a cylinder assembly.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base framesupporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a centralsection supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs.The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portionon which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion onwhich the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rearportions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of theapparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilienttelescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross memberhaving adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support sectionincludes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon.The rear section includes a slidably mounted post connected by a screwdrive to adjust the axial length of the legs on which leg supports aremounted. The apparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breaststrokes.

When configured for freestyle stroke exercises, the front chest supportsection has hand holsters attached to the lateral arm posts resilientlybiased to move 180° out of phase vertically to simulate hand positionsduring the freestyle stroke and the rear leg support section has a plateextending transversely through the top of the post, the plate having legpads mounted at opposite ends and being resiliently biased to offerresistance to leg kicking movement. The hand holsters and leg plate areconnected by a pulley system to synchronize pivoting of the leg platewith the position of the hand holsters.

When configured for breast stroke exercises, the front chest supportsection has a chest pad pivotally mounted on the upper section of thetelescoping post to simulate the up and down motion of the chest whiledoing the breast stroke. The upper section of the telescoping post alsohas two rigid arm-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquelyforward, and two resilient hand holster arms pivotally mounted onswivels at the ends of the arm-mounting brackets to simulate hand andarm positions during the breast stroke. The rear leg support section hastwo rigid leg-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquelyrearward, and two resilient foot pads pivotally mounted on swivels atthe ends of the leg-mounting brackets to simulate leg kicks while doingthe breast stroke.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the exercise apparatus for swimmersconfigured for teaching or practicing the freestyle stroke. FIG. 2 showsthe same apparatus, but with the covers removed to show details of themain base frame. As shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the exercise apparatuscomprises a main base frame having three sections, 35, 36 a, 36 b (frontchest support section 35, central torso support section 36 a, and rearleg support section 36 b) defined by two linearly alignedground-engaging box beams or square or rectangular tubing constructedfrom mild steel, carbon steel, steel, or aluminum and interlinkedtogether by threaded rods and nuts, cross members 37 l, 37 r markingdivision of the rearward ground-engaging beam between the central torsosupport section 36 a and the rear leg support section 36 b, wherebythrough the rotation of the threaded rod, the distance between sections35, and 36(a&b) can be altered to effect expansion or contraction(lengthening &shortening) of the apparatus along its axis. This allowsthe apparatus to cater for different upper body lengths of people to usethe apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the front chest support section 35 has two posts12 r, 12 l at its extremities running inside channels 11 a, 11 b, 11 c,11 d welded on the front cross members 11 r, 11 l. The posts 12 r, 121are connected with a threaded shaft 16 or screw drive extending throughthreaded bores or nuts in the lower ends of the posts 12 r, 12 l. Byrotating the shaft 16 using a handle, the posts 12 r, 12 l move inwardsor outwards from each other to cater for different shoulder and chestsizes of a potential user.

At the top of the posts 12 r, 12 l, telescoping arms 17 r, 17 l arepivotally attached at 17 a and 17 b, the arms 17 r, 17 l being made frommetal tubes of a predetermined size such that one tube slidably fitsinside another and are connected together with a compression spring ofpredetermined strength, allowing the two parts to resiliently movetelescopically. The two-tube spring configuration can also be replacedwith hydraulic arms or gas struts, so that it allows for the extensionof the arms 17 r, 17 l to simulate the person's arms being extendedforward in water and to retract as the elbows bend when the arm is beingpulled back and out of the water behind the swimmer. Each arm 17 r, 17 lis connected to a grip or holster 18 a, 18 b where the swimmer's handfits, and to a pulley 14 r, 14 l through a shaft or a stud 17 a, 17 b. Abelt 13 r, 13 l will then connect the respective pulley 14 r, 14 l witha smaller pulley 15 a, 15 c, respectively. The smaller pulley 15 aconnects to a shaft 15 b which is connected to the other small pulley 15c at the other side of this section.

Pulley 14 r is connected through a shaft or a stud 17 b to the othertelescopic arm 17 r, on the other side, for the user's other hand. Thearms 17 r, 17 l are positioned at 180° from each other (opposite eachother), so that as one arm goes down (enters the water) the other armgoes up (exits the water). Belt 131 is tensioned by rollers 19 a, 19 band belt 13 r is tensioned by rollers 19 c, 19 d, the rollers 19 a-19 dbeing mounted on brackets welded to the corresponding posts 121, 12 r,respectively. The tensioners are auto adjustable by a spring mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 2 & 4 shaft 15 b and threaded shaft 16 are held inplace with brackets 15 d, 15 e, which are welded on the center of thecross members 11 r, 11 l of section 35, two inches apart, and two otherbrackets 15 f, 15 g which are also welded at the extremities of thiscross members 11 r, 11 l of the section 35. A pair of retaining parts 30a, 30 b will stop the shaft 15 b from sliding along its axis. Nuts andlock nuts 29 r, 29 l are used at each end of the threaded shaft 16 tolock it in place.

Posts 12 l, 12 r are made, again, from box metal (square tubing) of acertain length placed perpendicularly on cross members 11 l, 11 r andrunning inside channels, which are welded on cross members 11 l, 11 r.Cross members 11 l, 11 r give the front of the base frame its stability,and are made from square tubing too. Center post 24 is made from acertain length of square tubing welded perpendicularly on section 35,and supports upper telescoping post or tube 25, with an internalcompression spring joining center post 24 and upper tube 25. The springis placed inside post 24 at the bottom and mimics the feeling ofbuoyancy to the chest of the user. At the top of upper tube 25, aT-plate is welded, which has two chest pads or a bolster of foam or highdensity sponge placed on it, which gives support and comfort to theuser's chest. The chest pads 27, 29 are placed on wood planks held tothe T-plate with bolts and toothed nuts, which are embedded in the topside of the wood planks.

An L-shape bracket 51 is welded to the front of upper tube 25. A metalplate 22 having two small plates welded to its top front, forming aV-shaped head support 23, is pivotally attached to the bracket 51.Inside the V-shaped head support 23, two small pads, molded on top ofwooden plates, are held in place with bolts and toothed nuts (which areembedded on the top side of the wooden plank, similar to padded blocks27, 29). Plate 22 has two holes, one at the bottom center and the otherhole is at the extreme side to it, connected through a metal rod 21 topulley 20, which, in turn, is connected to another pulley 38 a through abelt 28. Pulley 38 a is connected to shaft 15 b. Plate 22 is connectedto bracket 51 with a bolt and nut. Tensioner 19 is used to adjust thetension of belt 28 to prevent slippage between pulleys 38 a, 20. Shaft15 b feeds through pulleys 15 a, 38 a, 38 b, 15 c. This arrangementreplicates the user's head rotation with the arms movement to cater forthe breathing techniques. Note; head out of the water at the same timeas the arm is out of the water)

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , section 36 a is the central torso supportsection of the machine and section 36 b is the rear leg support sectionof the base frame of the apparatus. Section 36 a is cross-shaped orcruciform, with cross members 37 l, 37 r positioned more in section 36a. Section 36 a has a post 44 made of square tubing weldedperpendicularly on the top side of beam 36 a, with upper tubing 46telescoping onto post 44 and joined to it by an internal biascompression spring. This arrangement mimics the feel of buoyancy to themiddle section or torso of the user.

Upper tube 46 has a rectangular plate 46 a welded transversely to itstop, which has padding 48 molded on a wooden plank. The wooden plank hastwo toothed nuts embedded in the plank at the top of each side, where abolt is used to affix the padding 48 on the plate 46 a to providecomfort to the user's stomach.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the rear leg support section 36 b includesthe upper telescoping tube post 45 x, which is mounted on top of post 45of the leg section. Upper tube 45 x has two slots near its top end wherea metal plate 45 a goes through the slots. Plate 45 a is pivoted topost's 45 x top center by a pin or long bolt and nut 45 b, 45 c. Pads 49r, 49 l are placed at the top of both sides of the pivoted plate 45 aand held in place with bolts 45 d, 45 e and bolts 45 g, 45 f, to providecomfort to the user's feet while the user kicks up and down to replicatethe leg action in a freestyle swimming motion.

A spring 47 connected between one side of the pivoted plate 45 a and thecorresponding side of upper tube 45 x keeps the pivoted plate 45 ahorizontal at all times, and also provides resistance to the legs whenkicking up and down. The other side of the pivot plate 45 a is connectedto a long rod 45 h, which is connected to a pulley 38 c at the base ofpost 45, which is connected to another pulley 38 b mounted on bracket 15d of the front chest support section 35 with a belt. A tensioner 38 e ismounted on a bracket which is welded on top of the corresponding side ofcross members 37 l, 37 r. This arrangement is for the purpose ofcoordinating the legs with the arm and head movements, since they arebeing rotated by shaft 15 b, which rotates the arms, head, and legs, asa swimmer would do, for the purpose of learning the techniques. Thearrangement can be removed when the apparatus is used by a person whohas perfected the techniques. Post 45 runs inside channels 36 c, 36 dwelded on the top of section 36 b. A nut is welded to the rear side ofpost 45 and has a threaded shaft 40 going through it, so that when theshaft 40 is rotated using handle 40 a, the post 45 would move forwardand backward, allowing section 36 b to cater for the different height ofusers.

An L-shaped metal bracket 42 a is welded on the rear end of section 36 aimmediately in front of cross members 37 l, 37 r, and bracket 42 b iswelded to the rear end of section 36 b. These two brackets hold threadedshaft 40 in place with two double nuts 41 a, 41 b at each end of thethreaded shaft. A nut is welded to the rear side of post 45 where thethreaded shaft 40 goes through it, so that when shaft 40 is turned usingcam handle 40 a, shaft 40 acts as the lead screw in a screw drive-typelinear slide mechanism and post 45 will move forward and backward, alongthe axis of shaft 40 to cater for the user height of the body (user leglength).

As shown in FIG. 3 , threaded shaft 34 d connects posts 35, 36 a, andgoes through bracket 34 a, welded to post 44. Likewise, bracket 34 b iswelded to post 24. Bracket 34 b has a nut welded to it and the shaft 34d goes through it. Bracket 34 a has a hole in it only. Double nuts areused on the threaded shaft 34 d at each side of bracket 34 a. When thethreaded shaft 34 d is rotated using cam handle 34 c, the distancebetween post 24 and post 44 is varied to increase or to decrease tocater for the different user's height (upper body length), again by ascrew drive linear slide mechanism.

In use, a person using the exercise apparatus for swimmers of FIGS. 1-6lies prone on the apparatus with his/her chest supported on the chestpads 27, 29, the torso supported on the torso pad 44 a, and the legssupported on the leg pads 49 r, 49 l. The person performing the exerciseextends his/her arms and grips the hand holsters 18 a, 18 b. Alternatelyrotating the left arm and the right arm in circles so that when the leftarm is above the plane of the body, the right arm is below the plane ofthe body, and vice versa, simulates the arm movements of the freestylestroke. Simultaneously, the pulley system connecting the front chestsupport section 35 with the rear leg support section 36 b alternatelypivots pivot plate 45 a to simulate the leg kick characteristic of thefreestyle swim stroke. The resiliently biased telescoping front postmembers 24, 25 and resiliently biased central post members 44, 46simulate buoyant forces experienced by the chest and torso whenperforming the freestyle stroke in water.

Upper tube 45 x can be replaced with upper tube 60, which telescopesonto post 45, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C. Upper tube 60 has all themechanical parts concealed inside it, for a more desirable appearance.Here, the external spring has been replaced with internal spring-biasedtelescopic arms, hydraulic arms 56, or gas struts secured in place bybracket 57. The hydraulic or telescopic arms 56 are connected to thefoot pads of the sections of box metal posts 60 r, 60 l. The individualcomponents 60 r, 60 l housing the hydraulic or telescopic arms 56, shownin FIG. 8A, can be bolted together to provide accessibility to the innercomponents using bolts 55 and nuts 55 a.

Various resistance mechanisms can be integrated to provide resistance toall moving parts, such as the arms and the legs.

Alternately, the exercise apparatus for swimmers may be configured forpracticing the breaststroke. The purpose of this configuration is toenable a person to replicate swimming motion of a breaststroke withoutthe need for water (pool or sea). It could be used for teachingpurposes, improvement, or rehabilitation, and also for people withdermatological conditions, where sea or pool water could aggravate theircondition.

As seen in FIGS. 7 & 9 , the breaststroke configuration can beaccomplished by utilizing a base frame similar to that of the frontstroke (free style) and inserting post 70 inside post 24 with acompression spring separating them and inserting post 80 inside post 45with a compression spring in between and keeping post 46 on post 44telescopically, as shown in FIGS. 7 & 9 . Note: there are no connectionsbetween the two machines, they use a similar base frame only.

The assembly of upper post member 70 includes a section of square tubingthat telescopes onto post 24. Welded at a close proximity to its top arebrackets 71 r, 71 l that extend laterally and obliquely forward at suchan angle that arms 90 r, 90 l can rotate without colliding with oneanother. Spindle assembly 72 r and 72 l (mounted at the extremities of71 r and 71 l respectively) are each a cylinder that houses a spindleheld rotatably in place by two bearings at the top and bottom of thecylinder, which allows arms 90 r, 90 l connected to the top of thespindles to rotate freely (refer to FIG. 7 ). (It should be understoodthat each of the cylindrical spindle assemblies 72 r, 72 l, 83 l, 83 r,85 r, 86 r, 86 l, 90 r and 90 l are each a cylinder that houses aspindle held rotatably in place by two bearings at the top and bottom ofthe cylinder). Refer to FIG. 16 . Main spindle assembly 72 c is shown inFIG. 11 and main spindle assembly 82 a is shown in FIG. 12 alsohydraulic arms used in post 70 and 80 is shown clearly in FIG. 13 .

The bottom ends of spindles 72 r & 72 l are connected to cams, which areconnected to linkages 73 r, 73 l, respectively, and which are connectedat the other end to a cam, which is connected to the spindle of theassembly cylinder 72 c, where linkage 73 l is connected to it's top endcam (88) and 73 r is connected to its bottom end cam (109) (mounted onthe extremity of bracket 71 c extending forward from upper post 70) insuch a way as to synchronize the movements of the arms 90 r, 90 l withthe rise of the user's chest. Assembly 72 c is mounted on the extremityof bracket 71 c. The cam/spindle assembly also has a tensioner 74, whichvaries the load to the arms 90 r, 90 l in order to vary the strengthrequired by the user as they rotate the arms. FIG. 11 shows linkages 73r is connected to cam 109 which is connected to cogs 107 which is meshedto cog 104, cog 107 rotated in the opposite direction to cog 104. Alsoshows linkage 73 c which is connected to a ball and socket typearrangement connected to the top end cam (88) of spindle 72 c where theother end of the spindle (73 c) is connected to the chest pad plate'sbottom.

At the top of assembly 72 c, a cam is connected to a rod 73 c (asexplained in the above), which is connected to the bottom plate 77 a ofchest pad 77, where the forward and backward movements of that linkage73 c will cause the chest pad's front end to go up and down, pushing theuser's chest up and down. As a result, the appropriate motion is carriedout by the user in the breaststroke with regards to replicating thebreathing techniques. Pad 77 is held in place through a bolt 70 b andnut 70 c configuration (clevis pin) through a bottom fin welded to thebottom of plate 77 a, which is placed inside the clevis 70 a, which iswelded at such an angle to the top end of post 70 so that the connectedchest pad 77 pivots freely to replicate the breathing techniques.

The arms assembly 90 r and 90 l could each be a hydraulic or aspring-tensioned mechanism, where the front segment is allowed to moveaway from the rear segment forcefully, to facilitate the arm movementsin a breaststroke motion. Hand holster attachments 79 r, 79 l are wherethe user inserts his hand and rotates the arms and are connected to acylinder assembly's 83 r & 83 l top end where the bottom end of thecylinder assembly 83 r & 83 l is connected to the far end of the frontsegment of the arms 90 r & 90 l (the left side has a cylinder assemblysimilar to 83 r, which is hidden by hand grip 79 l in FIG. 7 andconnected to the left arm 90 l by similar structure but is shown clearlyin the top of the page of FIG. 11 ). FIG. 14 shows the various stages ofthe hands and arms movement in sync with the chest pad up and downmovements, where A-1 shows the user arms extended fully forward and thehand holsters turned outwards ready to move towards the user's body inorder to prepull the user's body forward, A-2 shows the user's hands andarms moved to the second stage (fully extended to the side of the user'sbody, A-3 shows the third stage where the user's elbow is behind theuser's shoulders with the hand flat and to the side of the user'sshoulders, and A-4 shows the forth and final stage where the user'shands are slightly forward in front of the user's shoulders and theelbows are adjacent to the user's shoulders.

FIGS. 9A and 12 show the upper rear post 80 for the breaststrokeconfiguration. Three brackets are rigidly attached to the upper rearpost 80, including a center bracket 82 extending axially rearward andtwo brackets 81 r, 81 l extending laterally and obliquely rearward,mirroring the front post 70, as shown in FIG. 9 . At the end of each ofthe above mentioned brackets 82, 81 r, 81 l, a cylinder assembly 82 a,83 r, 83 l, respectively, is mounted vertically through the brackets 82,81 r, 81 l so that a portion of it the cylinder assembly 82 a, 83 r, 83l extends upward while the rest of it extends downward (the bottomportion of cylinder 83 r is hidden in FIG. 9 ). The cylinder assemblies83 r, 83 l, 86 r and 86 l house a spindle held in place with a bearingat each end, secured inside the respective cylinder, allowing thespindle to rotate freely as in FIG. 16 .

The top of spindles 83 r, 83 l are connected to arms 85 r, 85 l, similarto the ones used for the arm movements in FIG. 7 . The arms 85 r, 85 l,which can be hydraulic or mechanical with a spring, telescope in motionin order to allow the leg to contract and expand in motion, similar tothe leg movements when carrying out a breaststroke. Linkages 84 r, 84 lare connected at the bottom of each spindle 83 r, 83 l to the top andbottom of spindle 82 a, respectively via cam 141 top and 133 bottom, asshown in FIG. 12 , so that both legs and feet move at the same time inthe same direction. The bottom cam of spindle assembly 82 c moves in theopposite direction to the top cam in order to replicate the propermovements of the legs, which is achieved via the use of cogs, as shownin FIG. 12 .

The other end of arms 85 r, 85 l are connected to the bottom of spindles86 r, 86 l, respectively, while the top of each spindle 86 r, 86 l isconnected to a corresponding foot holster 87 r, 87 l. Each foot holster87 r, 87 l swivels up and down along its axis and horizontally aroundeach corresponding spindle 86 r, 86 l to replicate the appropriate footaction as the user kicks back when stretching the legs while performingthe breaststroke. FIG. 15 shows the various stages for the legspositions corresponding to the arms and hands movements; FIG. 15 , B-1(stage 1) at this position the user's legs would be fully extendedrearwards which indicates that the kick has been completed, B-2 (stage2) at this position the user's legs would be split open and movingtowards the user's body, B-3 (stage 3) at this position the user's legswould be bending at the knees and the feet would be moving closer to theuser's body and about to leave the water upwards, B-4 (stage 4) at thisposition the user's legs would be fully bent at the knees and the feetare both out of the water and the tows and tilted upwards ready toperform the kick.

All spindles are threaded at the top and bottom and bolts are used tohold the connecting components to it. An alternative configurationallows for the spindle top and bottom to be slotted at its top or bottomor both depending on whether the connecting component is required tomove solidly or freely with respect to the spindle. The connected movingcomponents will have slots or cut outs (as per the alternativeconfiguration) to fit the spindle perfectly and stop the components frombecoming dislodged, as shown in FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 shows an alternativeconnector for attaching components to various spindles in the apparatus.The connector has a flat arm 88 terminating in a flat ring 91 and a flatstrut 90 extending diametrically across the ring 91. Each spindle has arotatable spindle pin 100 having a threaded end 92 and a notch 94defined therein extending diametrically across the threaded end 92 ofthe spindle pin 100. The notch 94 has a width slightly greater than thewidth of the strut 90 so that the ring 91 slides over the threaded end92 and the strut 90 sits in the notch 94. A nut 89 is fastened to thethreaded end 92 of the spindle pin 100 to prevent the connector fromslipping off the spindle. The spindle pin 100 is rotated when thecomponent is moved, or the component is moved when the spindle pin 100is rotated. The flattened connector may be mounted on the top end of thespindle, the bottom end or both. It could be a cam or a linkage or anarm (hydraulic or spring loaded).

Various resistance mechanisms can be integrated to provide resistance toall moving parts, such as, the arms and the legs, throughout theapparatus.

It is to be understood that the exercise apparatus for swimmers is notlimited to the specific embodiments described above but encompasses anyand all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of thefollowing claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, orotherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficientto enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimedsubject matter.

1. An exercise apparatus for swimmers, comprising: a main base framehaving a front ground-engaging beam, a rear ground-engaging beam alignedlinearly with the front ground-engaging beam, a pair of front crossmembers extending laterally on opposite sides of the frontground-engaging beam, and a pair of rear cross members extendinglaterally on opposite sides of the rear ground-engaging beam; a frontchest support section mounted on the front ground-engaging beam, thefront chest support section including a T shaped chest pad mounted abovethe front ground-engaging beam and a pair of pivoting and resilientlymounted hand holsters disposed on opposite sides of the chest pad andconfigured for exercising a swimming stroke; a central torso supportsection mounted on the rear ground-engaging beam between the front chestsupport section and the rear cross members, the central torso supportsection including a torso pad; a rear leg support section mounted on therear ground-engaging beam rearward of the rear cross members; a firstthreaded rod extending between the front chest support section and thecentral torso support section, the first threaded rod acting as a leadscrew in a linear slide mechanism for adjusting distance between thefront chest support section and the central torso support section; and asecond threaded rod extending between the central torso support sectionand the rear leg support section, the second threaded rod acting as alead screw in a linear slide mechanism for adjusting distance betweenthe central torso support section and the rear leg support section,wherein: said front chest support section further comprises: atelescoping center post having a lower section mounted on said frontground-engaging beam and an upper section resiliently mounted on thelower section of the center post, said chest pad being T shaped mountedtransversely/ axially on a top end of the upper section of the centerpost; a first lateral post and a second lateral post, the first lateralpost being mounted on one of the front cross members and the secondlateral post being mounted on the opposite front cross member,respectively, each of the lateral posts having an upper end and a lowerend, an inside face opposite the center post and an outside face; firstand second shafts journaled through the upper ends of the first andsecond lateral posts, respectively, for rotation therein; first andsecond resilient, telescoping arms having a lower end mounted on an endof the first and second shafts, respectively, on the inside face of thelateral posts and having a free end, the hand holsters being mounted onthe free ends of the telescoping arms, respectively, the telescopingarms being mounted for rotation in a vertical plane 180° out of phase sothat when one of the user's arms rotates upwards, the other user armrotates downward; and said rear leg support section further comprises: acenter post having an upper end, a pivot pin extending through the upperend, and a pivot plate extending transversely through the upper end ofthe center post of the rear leg support section, said leg pads beingmounted on the pivot plate on opposite sides of the center post of therear leg support section so that when one of the user's legs kicksdownward, the other leg kicks upward; whereby the exercise apparatus isconfigured for practicing a freestyle swim stroke, wherein said frontchest support section further comprises: first and second drive pulleysmounted on an end of the first and second shafts, respectively, on theoutside face of the lateral posts; an elongated shaft extending betweenand through the lower ends of the lateral posts, the elongated shaftshaving first and second ends extending beyond the outside faces of thelateral posts, respectively; first and second driven pulleys mounted onthe first and second ends of the elongated shaft, respectively; andfirst and second belts connecting the first drive pulley with the firstdriven pulley and connecting the second drive pulley with the seconddriven pulley, respectively; whereby, first and second resilient,telescoping arms are synchronized for rotation in a vertical plane 180°out of phase with each other, wherein said front chest support sectionfurther comprises first and second channels mounted on a top face ofsaid front cross members, respectively, the lower ends of said first andsecond lateral posts being slidably mounted in the first and secondchannels, respectively; inner support brackets mounted on said frontcross members on opposite sides of said center post and outer retainerbrackets mounted on opposite ends of said front cross members; and anelongated threaded rod extending through the inner support brackets, theretainer brackets, and threaded bores defined in the lower ends of saidlateral posts; wherein the elongated threaded rod acts as a lead screwin a linear slide mechanism to adjust distance between said lateralposts to accommodate the user's chest/ shoulder span. 2-4. (canceled) 5.The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 1, wherein saidfront chest support section further comprises: an L-shaped brackethaving a first arm extending forward from the upper section of saidcenter post and a second arm extending upward from the first arm; arocker plate pivotally attached to the second arm; a V-shaped headsupport plate attached to the rocker plate, the V-shaped plate havinghead support pads attached thereto; a driven pulley rotatably mounted onthe center post; a linkage connected between the rocker plate and thedriven pulley; a drive pulley mounted on the elongated shaft extendingbetween the lateral posts; and a belt mounted on the drive and drivenpulleys, whereby the head support plate pivots from side to sidesynchronously with the user's arm movements to mimic head rotation bythe user for breathing techniques.
 6. The exercise apparatus forswimmers according to claim 1, wherein: said front chest support sectionfurther comprises a drive pulley mounted on said elongated shaftadjacent said center post; said rear leg support section furthercomprises: a rear center post having a lower section mounted on saidrear ground-engaging beam and an upper section mounted on the lowersection of the rear center post; a leg support plate extending throughthe upper section of the rear center post, the leg support plate havinga central section pivotally mounted to the upper section of the centersupport post and lateral sections extending on opposite side of thecenter support post, the lateral sections each having a leg support padmounted thereon; a driven pulley rotatably mounted on the lower sectionof the rear center support post below one of the lateral sections of theleg support plate; a linkage extending between the leg support plate andthe driven pulley; and a belt mounted on the drive pulley on saidelongated shaft and the driven pulley on the rear center support post,whereby the leg support plate pivots up and down synchronously withcircular rotation of the user's arms.
 7. The exercise apparatus forswimmers according to claim 6, wherein said central torso supportsection comprises a telescoping torso post having a lower sectionmounted on said rear ground-engaging beam and an upper sectionresiliently mounted on the lower section of the torso post, said torsopad being mounted transversely across a top end of the upper section ofthe torso post.
 8. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according toclaim 7, further comprising: a first bracket extending laterally fromthe lower section of the center post mounted on said frontground-engaging beam, the first bracket having a threaded bore definedtherein; and a second bracket extending laterally from the lower sectionof the torso post, the second bracket having a through bore definedtherein, said first threaded rod extending through the unthreaded borein the first bracket and the threaded bore of the second bracket so thatrotation of said first threaded rod adjusts distance between said frontand rear ground-engaging beams, the center post mounted on said frontground-engaging beam being temporarily fixed in position when thefasteners on opposite sides of the first bracker are fastened againstthe first bracket.
 9. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according toclaim 8, further comprising: a channel mounted on said rearground-engaging beam rearward of said rear cross members, the centerpost of said rear leg support section being slidably mounted in thechannel, the center post of said rear leg support section having athreaded bore defined therein; a third bracket mounted on said rearground-engaging beam forward of said second cross members; a fourthbracket mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam rearward of thechannel mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam, said second threadedrod extending through the threaded bore defined in the center post ofsaid rear leg support section and having opposing ends rotatably securedto the third and fourth brackets, whereby rotation of said secondthreaded rod slides the center post of said rear leg support section toadjust separation between said torso pad and said leg pads toaccommodate length of the user's legs.
 10. The exercise apparatus forswimmers according to claim 1, wherein: said front chest support sectionfurther comprises: a telescoping center post having a lower sectionmounted on said front ground-engaging beam and an upper sectionresiliently mounted on the lower section of the center post, said chestT pad being mounted on a top end of the upper section of the center postaxially/transversely parallel to said front ground-engaging beam; acenter bracket extending forward from the upper section of the centerpost, the center bracket having a vertically aligned cylindrical spindleassembly mounted on a free end thereof, the spindle assembly having atop end and a bottom end; a pair of lateral brackets extending obliquelyforward from opposite sides of the upper section of the center post,respectively, on opposite sides of the center bracket, each of thelateral brackets having a free end; a vertically aligned cylindricalspindle assembly mounted on the free ends of the lateral brackets, eachof the spindle assemblies having a top end and a bottom end; right andleft telescoping arms, each of the telescoping arms having a base endattached to the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free endof a corresponding one of the lateral brackets, respectively, and havinga piston end resiliently extendable from the base end; a hand holsterrotatably attached to the piston ends of the right and left telescopingarms, respectively; a first rod linking the top end of the spindleassembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket with the frontend of said chest pad plate; and second and third rods linking thebottom ends of the spindle assemblies mounted on the free ends of theright hand side lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindleassembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket, and a third rodlinking the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the left handside lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindle assembly mountedon the center bracket through a cog to enable it to rotate in theopposite direction; and said rear leg support section further comprises:a center post having an upper end; a center bracket extending rearwardfrom the upper end of the center post of the rear leg supportingsection, the center bracket having a free end and a cylindrical spindleassembly mounted vertically at the free end of the center bracket, thespindle assembly having a top end and a bottom end; left and rightlateral brackets extending obliquely rearward from opposite sides of thecenter post of said rear leg support section on opposite sides of thecenter bracket of the rear leg support section, respectively, each ofthe lateral brackets having a free end and a cylindrical spindleassembly mounted vertically at the free end of the lateral bracket, eachof the spindle assemblies having a top end and a bottom end; right andleft telescoping arms, each of the telescoping arms having a base endattached to the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free endof a corresponding one of the lateral brackets of said rear leg supportsection, respectively, and having a piston end resiliently extendablefrom the base end; a foot holster rotatably attached to the piston endsof the right and left telescoping arms of said rear leg support section,respectively; a first linkage connecting the bottom end of the spindleassembly mounted on the free end of the right lateral bracket with thetop end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the centerbracket of said rear leg support section; and a second linkageconnecting the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the freeend of the left lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindleassembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket of said rear legsupport section via a cog to enable it to rotate in the oppositedirection; whereby the exercise apparatus is configured for practicing abreaststroke.